Ch7

Ocena skipped after Luden as he lead the way to Thane. How he knew where exactly Thane was Ocena wasn't sure. They arrived in a part of the factory district down in the City. Most of the buildings here were grey and made of simple architecture, from production plants to warehouses. The area was filled with the sounds of machines and workers busily laboring away at their tasks. Ocena could see them building everything from ship hulls to smaller components and everything in-between. Some of the workers gave Ocena odd looks as she passed, but they didn't bother her and went about their business.

*"Here we are,"* Luden spoke up as they reached the side of a large warehouse. *"These are the coordinates where Thane asked us to meet him. But I don't see him…"*

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere." Ocena said. The area was interesting she'd give it that. While she was looking around a crowd of workers moved past her towards an industrial lift on the side of one of the factory buildings. As they passed in-between Ocena and an alleyway, Thane suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of the alley, dressed up in full gear and watching Ocena with the quiet and neutral stare that he was known for.

"Ocena," Thane called out, trying his hardest not to startle her. "Over here."

"Oh!" Ocena turned along with Luden. "There you are." She walked over to him, just managing to keep from skipping.

"It is good to see you," Thane said with a small smile. "I had heard of your encounter with one of your more foolish brethren; I hope you didn't hurt him too dearly." Thane added with a light smile that made it plain that he was joking.

"I might have a little," Ocena replied with a nervous smile. "So anyway, you're going to teach me about movement, right?"

"Indeed," Thane answered with a nod, his expression once again becoming serious. "In battle, where you stand and indeed how you stand can often mean the difference between success and failure. When to retreat, when to press forward, how to nimbly hop to the side to avoid a grenade, and the more effective techniques for leaping as far as you can as quickly as you can. In time I will teach you what I know about doing all of these things. But first I must know what I have to work with."

Ocena was confused about what he meant by that, but before she could ask Thane suddenly turned and took off running towards the warehouse behind him at full sprint. Once he was close enough he bent his knees and leapt high into the air, waiting for the exact moment when gravity began to pull him down before somehow seeming to jump a second time in midair, allowing him to land on the roof of the warehouse.

Ocena blinked in surprise. 'I am meant to follow?' She suddenly recalled her father, watching him before he had died. He had been a movement instructor. Ocena knew a few tricks. Noticing a dumpster in the alleyway, Ocena looked from it to a scaffolding attached to the wall opposite it for repairs. From there she began to map out a route in her head until she thought she had a way up. "Well, here goes nothing," she whispered as she took a deep breath for focus. She took off towards the dumpster at a run, crouching just a little as she got close before she leapt up on top of it. From there she carefully spun on her heels and leapt over to the scaffolding, pausing for a moment to adjust her balance before facing her next 'stepping stone' and jumping to it as well. With a smile she saw that she was close to the roof where Thane was standing. There was quite a gap between where she stood and where she needed to land for her last jump, but she remembered when Victor had shown her the Nova Bomb he had also demonstrated an ability that let him float slowly to the ground.

'Okay, Victor was saying something about how void energy is not subject to the same laws of physics as everything in this world. Maybe I can channel a little into my feet to make gravity pull me down more slowly?' It was worth a try. Ocena closed her eyes and reached inside herself for her Light just as Victor had taught her. Once she had found it nestled safely in the center of her being as an orb of warm light, she imagined two small streams of it flowing into her legs. She felt a familiar, almost playful and energetic tingle around her shins and opened her eyes with a smile, as there was a little void light emanating from her feet. Maintaining her concentration, Ocena ran at the last gap and jumped for all she was worth. To her delight she felt as though something fuzzy and cotton like was attached to her legs, causing her to move through the air like a cloud, not flying but falling a little slower than normal. Then she landed on the other side with a small stumble and let the energy fizzle out, looking over at Thane with a pleased smile.

She blushed again when she saw Thane giving her a warm smile she hadn't seen him give before. "Nicely done. That was much better than I'd anticipated. I believe I saw you using a scaled down version of an abillity Warlocks call glide, so it seems that Victor's teaching methods are working well."

"Thanks, I have a good teacher," Ocena said proudly.

"In addition, you were able to perform the smaller jumps and figured out a way up here on your own without any help from me. While your movements are not as precise as a Hunter's or a seasoned Guardian, you move in a way that suggests you at least know what you are doing, which is a very good start." Thane paused for a moment and looked thoughtful. "Amnesia aside, do you think it's possible that you've had movement training before?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure my father was a movement instructor," Ocena admitted. "Although I'm not sure if he trained me or not."

Thane nodded. "Even so, it would seem that your body remembers a few techniques that someone passed to you. This should make training a little easier, but make no mistake: your performance was far from stellar." Ocena's smile fell a little as Thane began to pace around her. "Again, this is to be expected as you are in training, but I mean to train you to the point where much more precise movements become second nature to you. Out in the wild, every movement must be precise and economical: it must take you as far or as fast as possible with the least amount of exertion on your part. We Hunters have this down to an art, so I do not expect you to become as skilled as one, however," Thane smiled impishly, "that does not mean that I won't hold you up to our standards."

Ocena nodded in understanding. "So what do we do now?"

"Crouch."

Ocena blinked for a few moments before bending her knees and crouching down. Thane moved closer and immediately began to critique her.

"Spread your feet apart a little more: you don't want to fall over, and you don't want to waste energy and movement constantly shifting your weight to maintain your balance." Ocena blushed a little at his closeness and moved to do as he said. "In time you need to be able to drop this position at a moments notice in order to duck out of sight and take cover. Once you have progressed in your weapons training with Atom you will need to be able to hold a weapon while in this position and be able to fire without sacrificing your aim in order to balance."

'He said that what my body remembers should make this easy,' Ocena thought frantically as Thane continued to instruct her on her form. 'But this seems like it's going to be harder than I thought!'

One hour of squatting and moving while crouched later Thane called a break. Ocena collapsed onto her backside with a huff: her thighs were killing her from all of that squatting! Thane smiled and passed her a small canteen of water. "Here, drink up and take a breather. When we start again I'm going to be timing you while you run across the rooftops to certain points, so rest while you can."

Ocena sighed a little at the part about running but gratefully accepted the canteen and took a long drink. They sat in the shade of the building next door for a while in silence, with Ocena wondering what she should say and trying not to act nervous. After a while she noticed Thane was looking up at something in the sky. Following his gaze, Ocena searched the afternoon sky for whatever it was that had caught the Hunter's eye.

Then she saw it, and she had to keep herself from gasping. Thane was staring at the moon, but the moon… it looked as though an enormous monster had left three deep claw marks on its surface!

"What… happened there? What could have..?" Ocena recalled as a little girl she loved looking at the stars and moon, she'd had so many pictures of the moon.

"...the Hive." Thane's answer was so quiet that Ocena almost didn't hear it. "Abominations. Unlike the scavenging Fallen, the Hive did not come to our solar system to loot the ruins of our empire. No, they came following the Darkness because they worship it. They are foul and vile creatures, a twisted mockery of life, and their hunger is without equal."

Ocena shivered at Thane's words. It wasn't so-much what he was saying as it was the way he said it: she could tell that Thane took this personally. "During the Collapse the Hive entrenched themselves upon earth's moon, and during the centuries in which we erected the first walls and built the City, they delved deep beneath Luna's surface. Now the moon is riddled with their dark catacombs and shrines to depraved gods. At first our order greatly underestimated their numbers and sent scores of Guardians to the moon with the sole aim of driving out the Hive."

Thane bowed his head and closed his eyes mournfully. "It is said that on that day the surface of the moon split open in places, and that rank upon rank of Hive soldiers spilled forth like blood from a rotting wound. We were forced to retreat, to recall and discontinue any missions on the moon. We gave the moon over to the Hive, and ever since that day we dare not return, except to certain key locations that serve as Crucible arenas, if only to remind the Hive that we will not allow them to have the moon in its entirety."

"But it's our moon!" Ocena spoke up defiantly. "I remember pictures of the moon as a perfect white pearl! And we can't do anything to take it back?"

"You are not the only one who feels anger over their occupation of Luna," Thane whispered, and when he opened his eyes Ocena took a step back in shock: his expression was neutral, but his eyes looked so angry! "Many Guardians have ignored orders and foolishly ventured into the catacombs beneath the moon's surface, hoping to discover some secret that will tip the scale in our favor and allow us to drive them out. I am one such fool, and if not for Victor's intervention I am certain that my foolishness would have cost me my life." Thane's expression saddened a little.

"What exactly were you looking for?" Ocena asked in a small voice. Thane glanced over at her, his expression growing even sadder before he looked back up at the moon.

After a few moments of silence he answered her. "A friend. A Warlock like you, who shared my desire to see the Hive destroyed once and for all. She… she left for the moon along with five others, saying that she believed that she had discovered the means to destroy the Hive's greatest champion and god, Crota." Thane shook his head slowly. "They never returned. I searched for her, hoping to at least find her Ghost. When I found nothing I… gave myself over to rage, and my maddened feet carried me to one of the Hive's deepest chambers, where an abomination lay sleeping."

"What… was there?" Ocena asked leaning in a little closer.

"Death. I saw the Hive's fell sorcerers raising a monster of flesh, anger and suffering, molding it into a weapon to use against the Light. I knew on that day that I could not kill it, that I would die if I tried on my own." Thane closed his eyes. "However, I then weighed the value of my life against the value of the lives that might be spared if I could at least delay the Hive's attempts to summon their monster to earth. I found that my life was not greater in value, and so I went to offer my life to spare others from having to experience the horror that the Hive was preparing to unleash."

Ocena couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he place so little value in his own life? "I can understand sacrificing yourself for someone else," she said crossly, "but how can you make it sound so natural? You act as if it was common sense to just throw your life away instead of leaving to get help!"

Thane gave her a small, sad smile. "I was raised to view death differently than most, even before I became a Guardian. From what my memory tells me, I was born into a religious order among the Awoken. We do not necessarily worship death, but we do worship the cyclical ebb and flow of life and death. I was taught from a very early age to make my decisions as carefully as though a single out of place breath could cause the deaths of hundreds. I understand that it may seem cold and uncaring to the uninitiated, but the faithful such as myself are able to find a certain serenity in accepting the reality of death. We must live every moment knowing it could be our last, and we must strive to make every single death serve to renew the cycle."

Thane frowned. "Even so, I was not unhappy when Victor suddenly appeared to help me. He had been chasing a rumor regarding a weapon of great power crafted by the Hive, and his search had lead him to the chamber where I fought. Together we were able to cause enough havoc to disrupt the Hive's summoning ritual, and we were able to escape with our lives; we became fast friends after that incident. Thanks to Victor I lived to continue my service to the Light," Thane smiled warmly while adding, "and I was permitted to meet you."

Ocena smiled and blushed a little. But there was one thing that worried her. "So what about that Hive monster? Is it still..?"

"We could not destroy it," Thane confirmed with a grim frown. "We could only make it so that it would take the Hive a few years before they could make another attempt to send it to earth. In order to destroy the Hive abomination known as Phogoth the Untamed, we would need to let the Hive proceed to a certain point in their summoning ritual, at which point the energies protecting the beast from harm would dissipate. But in doing so, the creature would be able to move and strike back, and such is its power that the Vanguard believes a full Strike team of three Guardians is needed to even stand a chance of destroying it."

Ocena nodded in understanding. "And what about Victor? Did he ever find that weapon he was looking for?"

"We should continue training," Thane said as he rose from his seat. "Atom will be expecting you for weapons training once our time together is up, so we must make the most of your training time." Ocena reluctantly got up and did as he said, wondering why he was avoiding her question.

Only a little a bit later when her training was wrapping up for the day did Ocena try to get more out of Thane. "So, the weapon that Victor was looking for..?" She asked carefully.

Thane frowned. "It was a hand-cannon rumored to have been wielded by a man named Dredgen Yor. Once he was a Guardian, a champion of the Light like us. Then one day, no-one is sure how it happened, but he became a pawn of the Darkness, and now his name is used as a curse. The gun that he had used as a champion of Light is said to have been corrupted and changed when he fell, and that it came to hold great and terrible destructive power. Through careful research, Victor was able to determine some of the places that Yor visited following the time that he was thought to have fallen. That was no small feat, as Yor's travels became most erratic and hard to pin down, with sightings of him sometimes stopping for years on end in the records."

Thane turned to face Ocena. "Victor deduced that Yor still had his weapon with him when he dueld with and was destroyed by Shin Malphur, one of the Renegade Hunters. Their showdown was legendary and is still spoken of with awe to this day. Many believe that Shin destroyed Yor's accursed weapon, while others say that the weapon could not be destroyed. Victor believed the latter to be true, and he theorized that the Hive had ultimately been involved in modifying the weapon during Yor's fall from the Light. Thinking along these lines, Victor was convinced that the weapon's shattered remains were kept in a chamber deep within the Hive temples on the moon. And he was right: we found the broken husk of Yor's dark weapon as we were retreating from the Summoning Pits."

"... What happened to the husk?"

"Victor kept it for study," Thane said crisply, and there was a dangerous light in his eyes that made it clear that the conversation had sparked his anger. "He believed he knew of a way to restore the weapon to working order, something I was against. However, eventually the Speaker himself joined in on the project, believing that there was a way to sever the weapon's connection to the Hive and use its dark power against the Darkness: to fight fire with fire, so to speak. Even so, I feel that Victor should have looked for a way to destroy it rather than mend it."

Ocena flinched from the anger in Thane's eyes; she had definitely hit a nerve. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was such a thorny subject, otherwise I would've left it alone."

To her surprise Thane let out a quiet chuckle. "'Thorny?' Ah forgive me, you do not understand the joke: the weapon that we speak of just so happens to be named 'Thorn.'" His expression softened. "Apologies. I did not mean to snap at you: It is only natural for you to be curious about such things. If you must know, Victor actually gave Thorn to me for safekeeping: he knows how much I despise the weapon for its connection to the Hive, and thus he believed me to be the perfect candidate for keeping it out of the wrong hands." He paused, and a look of uncertainty crept into his expression. "There are times when I have considered testing Victor and the Speaker's theory that Thorn's dark power can be made to serve the Light. But then I remember the teachings of my order: what if some darkness hidden in the weapon should find its way into me? What unspeakable horror could the Darkness commit by using me as its puppet? Is its power worth such a risk?" Thane shook his head. "No. Only a great cause will ever persuade me to take up that accursed weapon."

"...I think I agree with you in that case… who knows what it could do after all." Ocena looked at him a little worried. "Do you carry it around? Do you really think it could overcome you?"

Thane hesitated for a moment before Prayer appeared and transmatted a hand cannon into his hand, but it was unlike any weapon Ocena had ever seen. It was black, with sleek metal that twisted and curved before ending in jagged edges and points. It looked as though the weapon had been warped, as though it once had a different appearance and had been twisted to look the way it did now. There was something else about the gun that Ocena couldn't put her finger on: she sensed some sort of force coming from it that felt a little similar to void energy, only this force felt… hungry.

"This is it," Thane whispered. "I dare not leave it in my room; as much as I trust my brethren, I feel that no precautions are too extreme where this weapon is concerned."

"I can understand, this… uh thing could do really bad thin-" Ocena blinked was it glowing emerald green or was that just her? Thane didn't seem to notice so it must be just her. She didn't understand why she felt the sudden need to touch it and stepped back.

"M-make it go away… please."

"Gladly," Thane whispered, and Prayer immediately broke it down into its base component molecules and stored it away. "Are you alright? Victor told me that during the process of repairing it he saw the weapon emit a strange light and he was seized by the urge to touch it." His eyes showed great worry and concern.

Ocena wrapped her arms around herself. "I… felt that…" No, it hadn't just been the need to touch it… "It felt like I needed to hold it to take it…" She shivered, she really didn't want to see it again.

"With luck, that will be the only time you are ever exposed to whatever taint lingers within it," Thane said quietly. "The Speaker was certain that all negative influences had been cleansed. He himself assisted in the process of consecrating it, and even so it appears he may have been wrong. His caution with relics of the Darkness is admirable though, so if even he could not cleanse it completely…"

Ocena wondered why it didn't seem to affect Thane. "It… doesn't do that to you though does it?" Was it because she was a Warlock? No… that couldn't it could it?

Thane went quiet for a while. "I do not know. I have done my best to limit my exposure to it. In fact, I've only held it twice: once when Victor handed it to me, and just now. Even so, perhaps it is already affecting me and I just don't know it yet." Thane looked at her with a troubled expression. "Its original master Yor was supposedly a Warlock. Victor theorizes that it affects certain Guardians differently." Thane snorted and added, "He also thinks that because Yor was defeated by a Hunter, and because that same Hunter shattered Thorn, it cannot affect Hunters. But I have yet to see evidence to support his claims."

Ocena frowned. "It could make sense I guess… but I doubt it." She looked up at the sky spotting the sun. "Been out here for a while."

"Indeed," Thane said, noting the position of the sun. "I believe our time is up for today. Atom is expecting you at a temporary firing range he has set up in one of the look out posts on the wall: he will send you the exact coordinates so you can find him."

"Alright…" Ocena paused. She had wanted to talk to someone about what had happened at her rooms for a while. She was sure it'd been surprising she had broke down like that over something that didn't happen. "Um…"

Thane raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "...Is there something on your mind?"

Ocena wrung her hands looking down. "You know about what happened in my rooms? That guy that came in?"

Thane nodded. "I apologize for not coming to help, but I was meditating out in the farm district when I received Luden's message. I was relieved to learn that Victor had been on his way to see you." He paused. "What of it? Are you afraid that something similar will happen in the future?"

Ocena shook her head. "No that isn't it. The situation made me recall something… unpleasant…" She wasn't sure she was going to get this out but it would be better if she did.

"Just well…"

Thane waited patiently, his eyes silently encouraging her to continue when she was ready.

"When I was… sixteen a good friend of mine his sister was… forced..." She clenched her fits. "I… he told me she was coming from shopping when she was attacked. I was walking with her but forgot something and went back… I found her there all…" Goodness she couldn't do this.

Thane closed his eyes. "The Collapse brought out the very worst in humanity through fear and desperation. However, much as we desire the luxury of turning back the hands of the clock to change things for the better, the past is immutable, carved in stone. All that we can do now is strive to prevent the mistakes of moments elapsed from becoming a part of our future. You are now a Guardian: you are a champion of Light and a protector of the weak. And you are not alone."

"I wasn't back then though!" Ocena cried. "She was so scared of any male after that! Even her own brother! I know even if I had been there with her I might have been hurt too but… but…" She shook her head. "...The guy did get caught though… when her brother talked with him he asked him why? Why would he do that to her? Can you guess what he said?"

Thane remained silent, his expression neutral although his eyes showed sorrow.

"The son of bitch said, 'She was asking for it because of how she was dressed.'... my friend kicked him right where it matters and said, 'Then I guess you were asking for that since you weren't wearing a cap!' He had it coming but it wasn't good enough for my friend. He was all but beating the guy to a bloody mess he was stopped of course."

Still Thane said nothing. He merely bowed his head and closed his eyes. Then he suddenly asked, "What was her name?"

"It was… Selena…She was… schooling to be a doctor."

Thane cupped his hands together. "Kirambo, matron of maidens and shelterer of the innocent: grant that Selena's voice may reach her friend Ocena. Grant that she may offer her words of gladness, kindness and memories of fond days gone by. We thank you for the peace you so lovingly wrap about her like a gown within your warm hall. Almarach Ish-Tan. Farem."

Ocena blinked up at him, then gave a tiny smile. "Thanks for listening, I feel better now."

"I am glad," Thane said with a smile as he finished his prayer and opened his eyes. "The burdens we carry are easily lightened by friends and skilled ears. I am happy to help shoulder your burdens, and I hope you will remember that always."

"I will. Shall I try to find Atom now? Er… I don't know how coordinates work…"

Luden chuckled as he appeared next to her. *"Don't worry, that's what i'm here for. Atom sent me his coordinates while you were talking with Thane, but I didn't want to interrupt."* He paused before adding, *"And Thane's not the only one willing to listen: I'm always here for you too, Ocena."*

Ocena smiled. "Yeah." She looked back to Thane. "I guess I'll see you later then."

Thane nodded. "Until tomorrow. May Kirambo grant you tranquility." With that Thane rose from where he was seated and stepped backwards off the edge of the roof. Ocena gasped and ran forward as Thane fell, but when she reached the edge he was already on the ground and disappearing around the corner of a nearby warehouse.

*"I hate it when Hunters do that,"* Luden said. *"And Thane's supposed to be one of the least dramatic ones."*

"I think that's cool. Well, lead the way Luden" Ocena followed after her Ghost as she flew off in her jumpship.